Where is Civ VI BE???

[Lazy sweeper]

Civ V BE was a beautiful game that inspired many aspects of Civ VI.

Humankind has Endless Legend 2 that has expanded on HK...
spoiler... it seems Endless Legend 2 has variable sea level heights...

So the question is simple... why Civ BE doesnt make an IP on its own at this point and time???
What is Firaxis doing with the BE IP???
It seems now it's too late for a civ VI BE... which in my own theory, should always be the natural final chapter of every civilization game...
moving to the Stars... after the launch of the Space mission, the Space game begins...
I mean, if it would come out as a DLC for Civ VI, it would sell at least an equal amount of copies as Civ VII has sold at launch...
making a completely new game? It would never sell as much. But it could arguable be better for the franchise as it could
improve the engine and alter mechanics without limitations. It would still be late but I'd be interested nonetheless.
What ya think guys?? Will we see a Civ VI BE???

 

[Nikolai II]

What ya think guys?? Will we see a Civ VI BE???

I think the eras system would work fine here. You can add a future age where you send the ship, continue on Planet like in SMAC or BE, and you can choose to start there or do it as a full game from 4000 bc.

 

[vorlon_mi]

Although I didn't get BE at launch (RL challenges), I love playing it with the Rising Tide expansion.... almost 2000 hours. I find it much more fun than the base Civ5 game with expansions. I'm a builder at heart, and 4 of the 5 victory conditions involve building a wonder. Expansion is rewarded, not penalized, after achieving some key milestones, which scratches my itch for a wide empire.

I would LOVE to have seen a space-based spinoff based on Civ6 mechanics. I'm afraid the window for releasing that may be closed. It would send confusing signals about the preferred gameplay style, future direction, from the studio. Civ6 introduced a large slice of the gaming world -- console players -- to "just one more turn." If they do plan a space-based spinoff, it would need to run on those same platforms to include those gamers also.

 

[Mezmorizor]

BE was them continuing the Alpha Centauri IP. They just fundamentally misunderstood what people loved about Alpha Centauri and it flopped hard.

 

[SammyKhalifa]

I think the eras system would work fine here. You can add a future age where you send the ship, continue on Planet like in SMAC or BE, and you can choose to start there or do it as a full game from 4000 bc.

And the "choose your new civ" element would lend gloriously to the SMAC factions. I mean I'm pretty sure SMAC isn't coming back at this point, but that won't stop me from wanting it. Keep the narrative and the writing and mood, and just modernize the gameplay.

 

[King Flevance]

Civ BE wasn't really associated with a release like Civ IV: Colonization was. It was a stand alone generic attempt at an Alpha Centauri reboot or "spiritual successor".

However, making the gameplay and factions too generic was a super obvious misstep. No "spiritual successor" game should have gameplay that feels generic, that kind of ruins the notion of a spiritual successor.

Civ BE had some good potential as an IP and the tech web vs tree was a cool concept as was the affinities for unit customization. There were some aspects like this that made each playthrough allow for flexibility in your playstyle. However, the factions were very bland mechanically. Very little unit diversity or building diversity in Civ choice made most games feel the same regardless of what factions you chose. The aliens didn't have enough variety nor weight to them. By mid-game they are just annoying more than a viable threat and it is noticeably easier to just wipe them out.

I think the sales suffered due to how great SMAC is and how bland this one was in comparison. Improved graphics can help boost sales on release day in the strategy genre, but can't sustain sales without much depth in the design. I think this was the anchor around CivBE's neck and while Rising Tide did fix a lot of weak spots in the model, I think it was too little, too late.

I am confused why 2k has closed the door on the modding community after Civ 4. It is obvious the amount of community activity surrounding Civ 4 due to its open source modding. I would think sales would shoot up higher on these games with a hyper active modding community. But I dont know. I suspect CivBE just didn't sell well enough to warrant a sequel.

I see more people crying out for X-Com 3 than BE 2. I would like to see both but we randomly got Midnight Suns out of left field so I don't know what Firaxis is planning other than having their hands full with Civ 7's release for the next year or two.

 

[bbbt]

I am confused why 2k has closed the door on the modding community after Civ 4. It is obvious the amount of community activity surrounding Civ 4 due to its open source modding. I would think sales would shoot up higher on these games with a hyper active modding community. But I dont know. I suspect CivBE just didn't sell well enough to warrant a sequel.

Afaik they released the source code for Civ 5 as well, which is why something like Vox Populi can exist.

Why there weren't the same degree of total conversion mods for 5 as for 4, I don't know (though I know one of the complaints about BE is it felt like one). I wonder if the increase in graphic quality/3D graphics increasingly proves challenging for modders for doing that. Like it's harder to be a one-man band so to speak.

 

[TheMarshmallowBear]

BE was them continuing the Alpha Centauri IP. They just fundamentally misunderstood what people loved about Alpha Centauri and it flopped hard.

Good luck with that. Alpha Centuari is not Firaxis IP. it's EA's.

 

[misesfan]

I was watching some gamplay of Endless Legend 2, and it struck me how much more polished and finished the game looks in comparison to Civ 7. Endless Legend 2 looks to be at a much higher level of craftsmanship, and its not even close. I dont know, but I dont think I can trust Firaxis to improve on SMAC/BE.

 

[Lazy sweeper]

I was watching some gamplay of Endless Legend 2, and it struck me how much more polished and finished the game looks in comparison to Civ 7. Endless Legend 2 looks to be at a much higher level of craftsmanship, and its not even close. I dont know, but I dont think I can trust Firaxis to improve on SMAC/BE.

Endless Legend II is skyrocketing in views and likes...

Firaxis has all our support and affection to the series to start developing a Civ VII BE, and have it developing in parallel with Civ VII..

One key change is CVII BE would go back to the old formula of a single ERA and a single Civ. Leaders could be swapped but there should be a limit...

The world is divided in 4 core people.

White - Europe
Black - Africa - Australia
Red - N-South America
Yellow -Asia

That's it. Leaders should in IMO be allowed to move a bit, within their Earth quarter.
But I always wanted to kill my own Leader. A Revolution for example should have consequences on the Leader. It's more okey for me to change Leader within the same
civilization and playthrough, only if I could also choose to go Leader-less, adopt a true Republic, or even Anarchy. No Religions, No Leaders. Maybe a Virtual-Leader?
This way I could revive say Alexander the Great with an AI, computer, virtual Leader, and choose him to guide my people... anyway...

In Theory There are two more people,
Brown - Sea people, which included the Cyclops...
Hobbits of every culture should have a Natural connection with Alien beings of every sort, but mainly Earth based. The Sea People should have a Natural connection with Water based Alien beings. Everyone else mildly balanced.

and the sixth continent people.
Antarctica.
They clearly are Blue-Azul.
Them should have deep connection with Alien Sky, and underground beings, and above all, Alien Flora. But negative bias with Earth and Water Alien beings (not plants).

And the Hobbits. But every major core people has its own hobbits.
I don't regard them as unique in their own, unlike the Cyclops.. One (?) eyed giants..

 

[Navelgazer]

I adored BERT (It wasn't really a full game until the Rising Tide expansion, and arguably wasn't even then - it felt like there was one more expansion probably planned for it that ultimately got scrapped, but that's just speculation on my part.) But yeah, it flopped pretty hard. It was full of a bunch of great ideas, many of which have found implementation in Civ7 (the influence system is the one that jumps to mind right now, but I know there are others as well.)

I think it would work great with the eras system in Civ7. After they (I suspect) rename the current Modern Era into "Age of Enlightenment" or whatever and add the "Age of Information" or whatever the fourth age will be called, it would make sense for them to at some point introduce a BE-style new title or expansion that can either act as a standalone or work with one's Civ7 gamefile to let you evolve from your latest-era civ into one of 10-15 space-faring civilizations. That's kind of my ideal place for the game to go at this point, honestly.

 

[Lazy sweeper]

you evolve from your latest-era civ into one of 10-15 space-faring civilizations.

I hope they would lean towards something like 32-36 base civs, 8-9 for quarter.
Plus the inclusion of three -different kind of humans beings- with high natural connection-biasing, and maybe a fourth -Robotic only civ... or leaders...
Cyclops (Alliance?)
Hobbits (Alliance?)
Azure (Alliance?)

10-15 would mean 3-4 civs for every quarter...
Sure civ BE had just the Blue, the Red, the Yellow, the Green... factions...
So it was very abstract... but if the new BE can be connected with Civ VII...
Then we could hope proper Nations would be included this time...
plus some of those special -fantasy- Alliances...

 

[Navelgazer]

I hope they would lean towards something like 32-36 base civs, 8-9 for quarter.

If they did a whole new "3-4 eras" game out of it, absolutely. My 10-15 was based on the idea of Civ7BE being like a long 4th(5th?) era that can be an addendum to one's Civ7 game. There were 12 possible "Sponsors" in BERT, about the same amount that you get in an age in Civ7, so that's where my thinking was.

But Beyond Earth also had the Factions, as you mention, and Rising Tide (IIRC) allowed you to hybridize those for a total of 6 (again, it's been a minute so I'm going from memory a bit here.) If a hypothetical Civ7BE had factions, and eras, it would be cool for faction allegiance/achievements to open up the Civs one can evolve into, so that while you start off as a Space Civ based on where you came from on Earth, you end up as one dependent on what you did on the new planet.

 

[vorlon_mi]

If they did a whole new "3-4 eras" game out of it, absolutely. My 10-15 was based on the idea of Civ7BE being like a long 4th(5th?) era that can be an addendum to one's Civ7 game. There were 12 possible "Sponsors" in BERT, about the same amount that you get in an age in Civ7, so that's where my thinking was.

But Beyond Earth also had the Factions, as you mention, and Rising Tide (IIRC) allowed you to hybridize those for a total of 6 (again, it's been a minute so I'm going from memory a bit here.) If a hypothetical Civ7BE had factions, and eras, it would be cool for faction allegiance/achievements to open up the Civs one can evolve into, so that while you start off as a Space Civ based on where you came from on Earth, you end up as one dependent on what you did on the new planet.

By "Factions" I think you mean 3 "Affinities", which were hybridized into a total of 6. They were/are crucial for buffing your units and getting other little bonuses like extra expedition modules. The affinities were:

• Purity: emphasizing human/earth traits over those of the new planet
• Supremacy: emphasizing tech/robots/automation to improve yourself
• Harmony: emphasizing living with / adopting elements of the new planet to become something new

Having two ages on a new planet is a good idea. The first age/era is a carryover of your "Old Earth" traits and technologies. The second age/era is what you evolve into, depending on the choices you make on the new planet.... which affinities you choose, which techs and civic you learn. The first set of civs / sponsors would be related to Old Earth civs, while the second set could be wildly different, like the more "out there" options from SMAC.

BE using Civ7 mechanics would need a whole new set of legacy paths to set up for new victory conditions.

 

[Vandlys]

Endless Legend II is skyrocketing in views and likes...

Firaxis has all our support and affection to the series to start developing a Civ VII BE, and have it developing in parallel with Civ VII..

One key change is CVII BE would go back to the old formula of a single ERA and a single Civ. Leaders could be swapped but there should be a limit...

The world is divided in 4 core people.

White - Europe
Black - Africa - Australia
Red - N-South America
Yellow -Asia

That's it. Leaders should in IMO be allowed to move a bit, within their Earth quarter.
But I always wanted to kill my own Leader. A Revolution for example should have consequences on the Leader. It's more okey for me to change Leader within the same
civilization and playthrough, only if I could also choose to go Leader-less, adopt a true Republic, or even Anarchy. No Religions, No Leaders. Maybe a Virtual-Leader?
This way I could revive say Alexander the Great with an AI, computer, virtual Leader, and choose him to guide my people... anyway...

In Theory There are two more people,
Brown - Sea people, which included the Cyclops...
Hobbits of every culture should have a Natural connection with Alien beings of every sort, but mainly Earth based. The Sea People should have a Natural connection with Water based Alien beings. Everyone else mildly balanced.

and the sixth continent people.
Antarctica.
They clearly are Blue-Azul.
Them should have deep connection with Alien Sky, and underground beings, and above all, Alien Flora. But negative bias with Earth and Water Alien beings (not plants).

And the Hobbits. But every major core people has its own hobbits.
I don't regard them as unique in their own, unlike the Cyclops.. One (?) eyed giants..

4 core peoples? Black, white, red, yellow?!
Hobbits?

What are you going on about...?

 

[Askia Muhammad]

Civ V BE was a beautiful game that inspired many aspects of Civ VI.

Humankind has Endless Legend 2 that has expanded on HK...
spoiler... it seems Endless Legend 2 has variable sea level heights...

So the question is simple... why Civ BE doesnt make an IP on its own at this point and time???
What is Firaxis doing with the BE IP???
It seems now it's too late for a civ VI BE... which in my own theory, should always be the natural final chapter of every civilization game...
moving to the Stars... after the launch of the Space mission, the Space game begins...
I mean, if it would come out as a DLC for Civ VI, it would sell at least an equal amount of copies as Civ VII has sold at launch...
making a completely new game? It would never sell as much. But it could arguable be better for the franchise as it could
improve the engine and alter mechanics without limitations. It would still be late but I'd be interested nonetheless.
What ya think guys?? Will we see a Civ VI BE???

Not interested in sci-fi elements personally especially anything close to the flop that BE was.

I’d rather they continue historical spinoffs (colonization or early modern specific) or even dip their toes into fantasy

 

[Askia Muhammad]

4 core peoples? Black, white, red, yellow?!
Hobbits?

What are you going on about...?

Just made me laugh out loud at work, now others in the office are wondering what’s so funny

 

[Darsnan]

why Civ BE doesnt make an IP on its own at this point and time???
What is Firaxis doing with the BE IP???
It seems now it's too late for a civ VI BE...
What ya think guys?? Will we see a Civ VI BE???

BE didn't gain much traction here at CFC at launch: witness that there was never a BE:GoTM forum, nor even one single GoTM developed (whereas even C7 immediately got GoTM's out of the gate). And Firaxis abandoned BE after one expansion, nor did they ever develop a Scenario nor Map Generator to help push the narrative of the game/ cultivate the community. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (SMAC) is a much better game, and I think pushing for a next generation Alpha Centauri would be a better approach.

D